Marblehead School of Raja Yoga
Self-awareness and meditation – group, private and online classes
• Raja Yoga is a practice in quieting your mind.
• Your mind constantly processes four types of thought: correct, incorrect, imagined, and remembered.
• Quieting your mind requires correct thinking.
• By practicing clear correct thinking with single-pointed concentration, you gradually pass through four progressively clearer states of mental awareness before experiencing unfiltered consciousness.
• To succeed: never give up; always let go.
Lead with your heart; don’t just passively abstain from:
Violence • Dishonesty • Thievery • Infidelity • Greed
Actively practice the opposite:
Compassion • Honesty • Charity • Fidelity • Generosity
The first chapter of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras explains why yoga works; the second chapter explains how to practice it; however, there is one practice instruction included in the first chapter, which makes it unique and highlights its importance: “never give up; always let go”.
Everything in life is constantly changing due to its fundamental energetic nature; thus, we have opportunities throughout each day to practice letting go. Chose not to let life’s little disappointments like a spilled cup of coffee, or running late, or packing up and leaving at the end of a memorable vacation (all things come to an end) spoil your day.
A yoga tale: two monks out for a walk came across a woman in distress about crossing a stream. With the woman’s consent and gratitude the older monk carried her across, after which the monks continued on their way. Some time later the younger monk turned to his friend – perplexed – and said: “we’re supposed to abstain from physical contact with women, yet you carried that young woman across the stream”. His friend smiled and responded “yes, but I put her down on the other side of the stream; you’re still carrying her”.
Letting go is often difficult; hence, the other aspect of yoga’s most important instruction: never give up.
Introduction
Pratyahara is the fifth of the eight-limbed practice of Ashtanga Yoga introduced in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras: a roadmap to peace through meditation. The Yoga Sutras – essentially a poem comprised of fewer than 200 partial sentences arranged in four chapters – is one of two widely recognized authoritative texts on Raja Yoga.
Pratyahara (transliterated as “withdrawal from the senses”) refers to concentration of the conscious mind; it is often practiced by silent recitation, essentially stringing together individual, sequential thoughts – often rhythmically – to momentarily control the content and flow of thoughts.
The stated, penultimate goal of the Yoga Sutras is to all-but-eliminate conscious thought – since at that point, without thoughts to interfere, we are conscious only of our own true nature.
Science
The four functions of your mind are:
1) Buddhi – this is your conscious mind – and the focus of the Yoga Sutras. At any given moment, you are conscious of whatever is reflected in this part of our mind. This is the aspect of mind that gets us in trouble – sometimes referred to as the “monkey mind” as we often seem at a loss to control what’s reflected therein.
2) Manas – this is your sub-conscious or sensory mind which works behind the scenes, automatically processing senses and basic bodily functions.
3) Ahamkara – this is your mental foundation: it’s the most elemental aspect of your ego: the awareness that you are a unique being – separate and apart from everything else.
4) Chitta – this is the storage aspect of your mind: your memories which still have karmic potential (i.e., to the extent the ripples of your past actions haven’t caught up with you yet, the corresponding karmic triggers are stored here).
Context
Patanjali introduces Ashtanga Yoga in Chapter 2, yet splits the discussion of the eight limbs between Chapters 2 and 3: concluding Chapter 2 with remarks on Pratyahara, and beginning Chapter 3 with a discussion of the last three limbs, signaling that Pratyahara is more akin to the first four, than the last three.
Pratyahara is the fifth in a sequence of progressively subtle exercises or practices intended to settle your conscious mind for meditation:
• Yama & Niyama – presented first, these two limbs of Ashtanga Yoga are the most important as they have the greatest impact on your peace of mind. The Yamas & Niyamas constitute a code of conduct intended to balance your actions; specifically, to mitigate the negative consequences thereof.
Note: of the 25 sutras devoted to Ashtanga Yoga in Chapter 2 (i.e., a little over 10% of Patanjali’s entire Yoga Sutras), 15 (60%) discuss these two sutras (“conduct”); three discuss Asana (“posture”); five discuss Pranayama (“breath”); and 2 discuss Pratyahara (“concentration”).
• Asana – Patanjali encourages us to learn to sit still and comfortably to facilitate meditation;
• Pranayama – Patanjali encourages us to learn to breathe deeply and subtly to facilitate meditation, as breathing exercises stimulate/calm circulation of our elemental energetic building blocks;
• Pratyahara – Patanjali encourages us to learn to concentrate (i.e., to fully-engage our conscious mind) to quell the effects of desire – the product of ego, memory and the senses – to facilitate meditation; the intent of Pratyahara is to turn one’s attention or awareness from the sensory to the thinking mind – and to begin to learn to control its content and flow.
The longer you can sit comfortably, breathe deeply and subtly, and hold the content and rhythm of your thoughts steady, the longer and more effectively you’ll be able to meditate.
Summary
When you’re sitting comfortably, breathing deeply and subtly, and controlling the rate, rhythm and content of your conscious thoughts, there is a synchronization of sorts between your heartbeats, breaths, and thoughts – a calmness that prepares you for the last three limbs of Ashtanga Yoga which involve further refining the content of your conscious mind by progressively narrowing its focus.
Check out SwamiJ.com.
Some of the material there is pretty deep, but if you’re interested in learning about meditation, this is a wonderful resource.
Once on the site, click on “Yoga Sutras” and then “Chapters”. You should see:
Concentration: Chapter 1 of the Yoga Sutras is entitled Samadhi Pada, which means the chapter on concentration. Chapter 1 describes yoga, witnessing five kinds of thoughts, uncoloring thoughts, the twin principles of practice and non-attachment, the stages of concentration, efforts and commitments, obstacles and solutions, and means and results of stabilizing the mind.
The 51 sutras of Chapter 1 have been divided into 9 sections:
While SwamiJ.com is truly awesome, I suggest reading multiple interpretations of what the author (Patanjali) was trying to convey. The next time you’re in a bookstore, find the section on yoga – and the smaller section on yoga philosophy; specifically, The Yoga Sutras. Flip thru whatever books are on the shelf and see if one or two of them appeal to you (some are quite academic – while quite helpful, perhaps not the place to start). Start with the chapter summaries, and then read one section of a chapter at a time – focusing on the first two chapters. Remember, this is entirely a personal practice; there’s no right or wrong way to interpret the sutras, the intent of which are to reduce human suffering!
It’s not easy to “unpack” the Yoga Sutras without a teacher, but the above is a good way to start – and as the sutras promise, hang in there and you will succeed (if “only” in improving your health and happiness)!
Hey Pal,
Sorry for the length of this note, but here are a few thoughts on our discussion about a 20 minute workout; of course we’ll do that, but keep in mind:
Raja Yoga is a constant practice in trying to see yourself differently; specifically, trying to identify with your consciousness rather than your body/mind – and in that regard this practice doesn’t really lend itself to a 20 minute routine.
No amount of stretching, breathing or concentrating will bring about a sea-change in your life the way a change in attitude or paradigm will. That’s the endgame here: to see yourself differently.
Things to consider:
• Constantly strive to distinguish between your consciousness and thoughts. Consciousness is simply the awareness or perception OF your thoughts; it never changes. Everything else, including your thoughts and memories are subject to the vagaries of time and circumstance. Remember the “1+1=2” exercise: there are two things happening simultaneously: the counting, and the awareness of the counting. Subconscious thoughts (the consequence of interactions between your three non-cognitive mental functions: sensory, memory, and ego) percolate up into your conscious mind unless you override that natural involuntary process via concentration – just as you interrupt your involuntary breathing process when you practice controlled breathing.
• This is a simple yet difficult practice; it’s counterintuitive to identify with something you can’t see, smell, hear, taste or feel, rather than the face smiling back at you in the mirror. But think of it this way: if you were physically or mentally debilitated, that wouldn’t fundamentally change who you are, or somehow diminish you as a person – so why chose to identify with the fickle, constantly changing parts of yourself which will eventually turn to dust. Wouldn’t it make sense to identify with the part of you that’s consistent (so that how you see yourself isn’t constantly changing like your body/mind)?
• The most important general practical advice from the Yoga Sutras comes from the first chapter: don’t stop trying, and don’t beat yourself up when you slip.
• The first specific practical advice of the Yoga Sutras is introduced in chapter two: success depends on your mindset. Recognizing the difficulty of identifying with an aspect of yourself that you can’t even see, the practice promotes finding faith in something and devoting yourself and your practice to it. Is there something in your life that you’re willing to sacrifice everything for? Draw strength and determination from that which you have faith in; in short, remain determined, discerning and devoted.
• Chapter two of the Yoga Sutras goes on to introduce an eight-step practice to prove to yourself that your consciousness is distinct from your mind. While the steps are sequential, they’re also integrated; the first five settle your body/mind, preparing you for the last three purely mental, meditative exercises. The theory is that once you’ve virtually emptied your cognitive mind of thought – and btw, you can’t do that if your physical, energetic and mental aspects aren’t settled – your consciousness, then having nothing else to be aware of, becomes aware of itself. Regardless of whether you meditate, it’s comforting to know that when you need to, you CAN calm yourself physically, energetically and mentally – and it gets easier with practice!
• The other thing to remember is the energetic nature of all matter. Your entire physical/mental being – from your memories to your toes – everything besides consciousness – by its very nature is in a constant state of flux at a cellular or elemental level. The practice prioritizes personal conduct because physical actions generate greater energetic consequences than mental ones (actions speak louder than words). Remember, the first two preparatory steps (i.e., being a good person) get you 70% of the way to a settled mind. And thus, while the last three preparatory steps (i.e., physical, respiratory and concentration exercises) are helpful, don’t be misled; they are NOT the focus of Raja Yoga.
Btw – here’s some Raja Yoga nomenclature: “Self” (with a capital “S”) refers to your consciousness (aka awareness), while “self” (lower-case “s”) refers to your material body/mind. This is a practice in cultivating Self-awareness: recognizing the distinction between cognition and consciousness, ironically by mastering “self” control (i.e., you can’t control your “Self”; it just “is”), keeping in mind that your actions have the biggest impact on your state of mind (for one thing, every action has perpetual consequences)!
While everyone has a body/mind, cellularly or elementally, there’s nothing truly unique about them; however, while everyone also has awareness – IT is what makes you unique – since no one else perceives life as you do. In the Yoga tradition, THIS is the part of you worth celebrating, acknowledging, honoring, etc. – the unchanging enduring part of you which perceives, rather than the temporal parts of you which act but are fleeting.
So, what’s the most efficient use of your time if you’re going to set aside 20 minutes a day? My advice: exactly what you were doing when you thought, “it’s sort of like my body/mind is a car and my consciousness is a passenger” – THAT effort – to see your awareness as a distinct part of you – is the most productive way to spend any free time you have with respect to this pursuit of happiness.
That said, we’ll practice a 20 minute physical/energetic/ mental routine tomorrow that you can do daily! 😉 My best.
Matter consists of two oppositional, energetic, constantly changing states (think Star Wars: the light and dark sides of the Force). While the two states are exact opposites (Yoga refers to them as Rajas and Tamas – other schools as Yin and Yang), there’s a third, stable, steady, quiet, balanced state where the two opposing states are found in equal parts (represented by the dividing line in a Yin/Yang symbol): Sattva.
There are a few things to keep in mind about Karma:
It’s a natural law which applies to all matters. It’s the law of cause and effect: that every movement, change or action has consequences (if you increase water temp it boils; if you cross the street, you get to the other side). It occurs at every level: atomically, as one cell contracts, another is drawn toward it; if you tighten the muscles of your hand, your fingers form a fist; once the earth’s nonrenewable resources are gone, things become difficult.
All actions have virtually perpetual consequences; every movement or action has immediate and direct effects, as well as perpetual ripples of indirect consequences (if you take a left fork in a road, then every turn you take thereafter is predicated on having taken that initial left turn).
It’s nonperson-specific. We’re born into a tsunami of unfulfilled direct and indirect consequences of actions and events that occurred before we were born and that will go on long after we are gone. We can all think of instances where something happened to someone through virtually no fault of their own. Technically, that is Karma: the consequence of all things that precede, though not in a predestined sense (e.g., the only reason the tree limb fell on your car was because you parked under it – and/or you neglected to trim the tree – but not because of something good or bad you may have done).
Yoga is a constant practice in influencing and accepting Karma. The intent of Yoga is to reduce suffering through self-awareness, and positively influence destiny – to the limited extent we can – by controlling our own actions, and accepting the consequences of actions and events that befall us through no fault of our own.
